Holy Ground
by EnchantedToReadYou
Summary: A virus has wiped out every adult. Kurt and his friends have to fend for themselfes that way. The air still makes people sick. Kurt s lung has been damaged by the air and in search of medicine, he is captured by the Warblers. Blaine tries anything to get to know Kurt s secrets. But spending a long time together makes one see how much the enemy can be alike and loveable. Klaine 3
1. Chapter 1

**Hello guys. Yeaah I´m back with another story: As if I haven´t got enough. Well it´s exam time at my school so that´s why some of my work may have to wait for around christmas to be uploaded. But don´t worry, not abandoning :D This chapter is rather explanatory, more conversation in the following ones, I promise :D**

**Explanation: So this story is based on a Tv show I have watched when I was much younger named The Tribe. A virus has wiped out the grown-ups and the kids have to fend for themselfes. That´s the main idea. I will not go along with the plot of the show in other aspects though. I know there is a book with a similiar idea, but i haven´t read it. Basically there are many tribes in this city, one of it is Node. No Directions. Don´t ask where the e at the end is from, it sounded better than NODI :D Blaine is calles ´Ace´ in here at the beginning, so don´t get confused. Also, Blaine is not the overly nice guy, but I swear he and Kurt will get along in the story later on. For now let´s just say, you need to handle a sick and abused Kurt for the sake of the plot. I haven´t been plotting so thouroughly for a long time. I hope I will bring this story to an end and you will support me, because I kinda fell in love with this :D Why this story is called holy ground though, will not be revealed yet.**

**Warnings: Mention of deaths, slight beatings and sickness. And a half skully face Blaine - only paint, don´t worry haha :D**

* * *

_Chapter 1_

**28. November 2012**

_We were the first ones to be informed. It was two days before Kurt's 16__th__ Birthday, when I knew this would be the last one I would see him celebrate. The otherwise quiet room erupted in loud chatters and even screams pierced the congress. I remained sitting at the desk, my demeanor calm, even though my hands were shaking. One year at most. One. And that was only a rough estimate, given my age. _

_**[…] virus that mutates body cells in […] .Bodily functions will shut off[…] .According to studies the process will stretch from seven month to a full year, depending on age and health, before human bodies decease. […] no cure yet.**_

_It was top secret information, not to be leaked to the public to avoid mass panic. I knew that it would only take days, maybe month before someone broke down and sold the truth to a news station, hoping the money they received would safe their asses. _

_This night, I took the first flight home and got home at 10 pm. Carole smiled a little confused by the sudden heated kiss I gave her, right before I rushed to Kurt. When I entered his room he eyed me though the window, his face moist with some kind of crème he used. _

"_Is something wrong Dad? I thought you wouldn´t be back until Thursday?" He asked, the worried expression was that of his mom._

"_Nothing´s like home. I missed you."_

"_We ate breakfast together today."_

_He continued to rub something into his face and I couldn´t help but watch him. His back was so tiny and his skin was fair. When he was younger I dreamed about cheering him on in football, helping him get the ladies or enjoying a beer together. Now I felt myself tear up at what I was about to lose. He wasn´t the son I had dreamed to spend my life with. He was even better._

_We would both die._

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**September 2013**

Kurt coughed for the third time in the last five minutes. His skinny hands gripped at his shirt, as if wanting to reach into his lung to calm it. When the coughing seethed, he desperately gulped for the air he had lost. He breathed in deeply once, twice, feeling like no air reached further than his throat. The air tasted slightly sour, making his empty stomach cramp with sickness.

"You alright dude?" Finn asked, walking towards the bed he lay in.

Or rather towards the blankets they used as a compensation for the missing mattresses. A lot of survivors had gotten ill, deceases hung in the air, grabbing a hold of the healthy parts of their bodies. Finn hadn´t been one of them. His big body was as hulky as ever, his skin was still partly tanned and his voice was still intact. Kurt and a few others hadn´t been as lucky. It had started around a year ago, back when the news about AAA came out. Once upon a time he had known the technical term for the virus that caused body cells to mutate. He now stuck to the much easier version: Acid! Acid! Acid!, which was the children's version of that. Whatever it was that had caused the death of millions of grown-ups and few teenagers and children, it had damaged his lungs permanently. At worst times, like today, every breath hurt, every cough was enough to drive him crazy with the pain in his chest. On days like this, speaking was an effort that could leave him drenched in sweat.

"Yeah." Kurt answered breathlessly.

Finn was not the brightest of all, but he knew when someone was sick. He eyed him suspiciously, before he let out a sigh.

"Do you still have your medicine? If not Puck and I could sneak out to find you a new one."

In response, Kurt nodded weakly. He was happy that the inhaler gave no indication of its content. Under the skeptical gaze of Finn, he brought the device to his mouth, pressed the button and fell stale air enter his mouth. It was just a farce, something to ensure that they wouldn´t risk their lifes out there just for him.

"See? All –" Kurt tried to say, but it ended in coughs.

A hand rubbed soothingly over his back, too small to be that of his brother. Through watery eyes he recognized Rachel. A part of him reveled in the touch, as simple as it was. A bigger part cringed, instantly crawling away from her.

"Kurt I wanted to apologize again. What I said was-"

"Rachel I don´t think now is the right moment to discuss this. He is weak. Let him rest until the medicine works." Finn interrupted his girlfriend.

Kurt almost regretted lying to him about the inhaler, since keeping Rachel from him was a blessing. He couldn´t face her after what she had said about his father. Everyday could be the last for both of them, and still, it had cut too deep to be mended by mere words.

"You are right. I´m sorry I´m being overly emotional right now. Just know that I am sorry Kurt."

She then grabbed her boyfriend´s hand and Kurt watched them both walking down the aisle for hair products. Kurt caught them both looking worriedly at him, before turning around the corner, resuming with the life they now had to live. If you could call it living. Most of the days, Kurt resumed in his makeshift bed, listening to mostly Rachel's, sometimes someone others voice and watching the light flicker. It was only a matter of time when electricity would finally shut down. Whoever regulated the services right now was a punctual person. No electricity until sunset, no opportunities to keep food cool for long that way. At 9 pm the yellow lights flickered on in the supermarket, illuminating the aisles and switching on the radio. Today no one could really listen to the report of the Panthers; Kurt´s coughs drowned most of it.

"Shut the fuck up Hummel. Those damn kitties are talking about us." Santana finally snapped, shouting from her bed on the cash desk. Brittany was tugged under the blanket they shared and looked at him. The distance was too great to determine what her facial expression was like. Santana and Brittany weren´t the only one gathering at the once entrance of the shop. Quinn, Sam, Puck and Mercedes sat around the radio, straining to listen to those idiots.

"Santana, he is sick." Mercedes reminded her.  
"We all know! It´s not like we could forget with his constant coughing that won´t stop to annoy me. Can´t you die a little quieter?"

Kurt would defend himself if sentences could be formed without making him even sicker. The death of people he loved had roughened him up, even if his body hadn´t.

"That´s not funny!" Brittany suddenly yelled. The girl with the now shorter hair grabbed their blanket and walked over to Kurt's bed.

"Here, you seem to need it. Don´t listen to her, she´s grieving about Artie and Sugar. Lord Tubbington once had the coughs too, so we cut of his cigarette intake. Kurt, are you smoking?"

He shook his head in response, handing her back the blanket. For a short second Brittany looked dazed, like the old her. Her mouth opened to say something, but no words came out, and she walked back wordlessly. She no longer was the rather foolish girl from High School he had once made out with. While still being a little stupid, she was the only person knowing a bit about medicine, as she claimed she knew because of her cat. Following her retreating form, he saw Santana look at him, before standing up to turn up the volume. One hand of his reached up to cover his mouth with his blanket to stifle his sounds.

"**Broadcast-time. The Panthers have caught no sight of all of our favorite tribe recently. Frankenteen and Hedgehog have roamed the city last week, but have escaped us just before they could lead us to their little hide out. We know you are listening! You can´t hide forever. The food you stored should be for everyone, don´t you agree? We will find you Node, we will find you and share the food you selfishly keep to yourself. The Panthers are thankful for any hint leading to their whereabouts. Hints will be rewarded with access to the internet and a cup of water. You know where to find us, but we will decide who to trust. Node is the enemy and they need to be stopped." **

Uncomfortable silence crept through the supermarket as they processed the words said. The Panthers had somehow found out that they had food instead of a stupid radio station that was able to broadcast from 9 to 11. But this was actually the first time they had tried to incite listeners.

"Node is the enemy. They don´t want to swap a radio station with a supermarket." Sam said suddenly in a bad imitation of the speaker. Brittany was the first one to laugh and clap her hands in joy, already snuggled against her girlfriend again. Others joined, even Kurt did.

"Hedgehog? How do they come up with those stupid names? Damn I´m the Puckosaurus. Why doesn´t that name stick?"

Puck stood up, flexing his muscles as if that would miraculously change the name he was given by other tribes. Some tribes really had chosen to rename the members. Thanks to Mercedes, we could move into the supermarket her Dad had owed, sealed it shut when Burt had told them about the virus and used our own entrance, kept hidden from any passing people. Pieces of metal, cut in heavy triangles, welded together where windows had once been now obstructed the view. And just like the exterior of the Supermarket, the Glee kids had changes and grown-up. Node was just the tribe name that had stuck, even though none of them felt like they had any direction at all. No Direction.

"Let´s listen to some audio-book instead of continuing listening to these crappy cats!"Mercedes said.

She tried to force a happy sound to her voice, as everyone in the market sighed. They had five audio books in here, each of them had been listened to at least twice. Though when she slipped in the Lion King, the room turned quiet. Kurt lay awake, listening to the story he knew by heart, singing along with all the songs in his head instead of aloud. The story was long over, the market filled with silent snoring, as the lights finally flickered out and darkness surrounded him.

Kurt waited for another hour before he slipped on a hoody of Pucks that lay on the shelf they kept their clothes. It was too dark to recognize anything, but after months of staying here, he knew this place without needing his sight. He turned right when he felt the metal of a freezer, then left in the aisle with Hair products and went straight ahead from then on, until he could reach for the handle of the storage-room door. Once inside, a small window in the left hand sight of the room provided just enough light for him to make out the ladder they had screwed into the wall to make sure it never slipped when they climbed up. When coughs threatened to work up his throat, he bid down hard on his lower lip, stifling them to much quieter huffs. Once his body was calmer, he climbed the ladder, opened the window and sat down on the sill. Cold air ripped at the too big hoody and the holes in his jeans as he sat down.

Sometimes Kurt wanted to sit down here and enjoy the air that seemed much fresher in comparison to the stale air inside of the market. But his dangling feet could be much easier to spot, so he never did. Closing the window behind him, he gripped for the sill. He always felt the adrenaline pump thorugh his body on the first step outside of the safe place they stayed. One slip from the brick wall and the ten meters he would fall could be his end. His right food instinctively went right into the hole where a brick once had been, as his left hand left the sill to reach into another empty space inside the wall. They were lucky the window was also hidden by two small corners, making the climb down easier. Step by step, he searched and found the holes to support his weight on the way down. Third brick from the left , left hand, second brick from the right, right foot. He knew every place of the missing bricks functioning as ladder. A quiet sigh left his mouth as he had steady ground under his feet.

It had been a long time since Kurt had been outside. The periods of time he was ill had increased in the last weeks, making hiding rather difficult. And hiding was the only thing that kept all of them alive. Without their hiding skills, they would have all been dead. Artie was the proof of that. He had simply been too flashy with his wheelchair. Someone had killed him before he could make it into the improved market. Sugar had disappeared one night, her whereabouts still unknown. But her loud behavior made her death likelier. No one thought she would return. In the first week she had gone missing, they all had lived in fear of someone breaking in and killing them, if Sugar hadn´t kept their secret. When none of that happened they knew she had taken their secret to her grave.

Right now, walking along the streets of the city was reckless for Kurt. Though he knew most tribes avoided going outside in the night, some of them lurked in the darkness of the shutdown town. They were the reason most tribes stayed inside at all. Kurt should have been asleep by now. Walking down the alley, almost running, even though his lungs protested, while he waited for any noise that would indicate the arrival of enemies, he hoped he would get closer to his goal. Finn and Puck had risked their lifes too often to safe Kurt´s. They had even been recognized and named by the Panthers. He couldn´t let that continue to happen. He would take care of himself. In times like this friendship either run as deep as theirs, or it didn´t exist. Kurt knew it that his death was inevitably. It would happen sooner rather than later. If he found medicine in the Highschool pharmacy he would survive a little longer. If he didn´t, so be it. Why drag his friends into this?

His body grew tired really quickly, he had to rest in alleys and corners to even be able to continue. No more coughs escaped his lung, as his body was too preoccupied with trying to breathe in more. More air, more. The trip that would have taken him ten minutes last year, now took him over twenty minutes, but he was glad he hadn´t been spotted by anyone. His old Highschool loomed in the spare light of the moon, looking quiet and empty, even though he knew someone had to be in there. Schools were common places for tribes to live in, so he had few hopes of the infirmary not being occupied. Still, it was his only chance of finding medicine. Finn and Puck had returned empty-handed last time, saying that all the pharmacies had been robbed. Of course they had. Stifling coughs with the hoody, he took a few seconds to calm himself down, before he walked around the school.

At every window he bend his body low enough to make it impossible to see for people inside. From time to time he looked around, but he couldn´t make anything out in the darkness. At the window leading to the infirmaries he peeked through the window, barely long enough to make sure it was abandoned. He continued to walk to the back of the school, his breaths now too loud in the complete silence that surrounded him. Just as Kurt wanted to look around the corner, he heard voices. They were too low to make words out, so he bit down on the fabric and waited. He should go back to the market. He could die there, surrounded by his friends. Maybe even have a good last meal before he finally stopped breathing. Just when he decided to do just that, the voices got even lower and soft steps told him they were going inside. Sitting down on the cold ground, he waited for a few minutes, before daring to have a peek around the corner.

The entrance was empty as far as he could tell. Holding his breath, he bend down low once more and hurried to the steps, up to the doors of his old Highschool. Kurt knew that going inside he had to make it to the second door that lead to the infirmary undetected. If he did that, stayed quiet while going through the cabinets with medicine and back out, he would survive a little longer. If they would catch him, he would probably be tortured, or end up dead right away. People in these times were lawless. The only law that applied was:

_Do anything to ensure your own survival._

Standing out here, Kurt would find too many reasons for him not to risk it, but to go back, so he just rushed in. The doors were open, as if inviting every intruder possible. It should make him happy that they made it easier, but he knew that it only meant they thought they could handle enemies. Not a good perspective right now, Kurt thought, and shoved the thought in the back of his mind. Sneaking in, he eyed the halls suspiciously. His heart beat fast now, just like it did when he sat on the window sill. The first step he did was loud in his ears, almost as loud as his own heart-beat. He expected people to run out of their rooms and spot him. When they didn´t he almost slid his way over to the left side of the hall. Slowly, Kurt passed the first door that lead to a classroom. Just then he had the familiar feeling of his lungs constricting and he bit down harder. One cough could cost his life. To his surprise he made it to the infirmary undetected and opened the door with ease. Once inside, he closed the door gently, holding his breath until it was. Kurt´s eyes would need time to adjust to the darkness of the room, but he didn´t have the time for it. In his mind, he still saw the cupboard on the right side of the room.

Searching for it, he quickly found the knob. He turned it around, but the doors didn´t open. The first thing that was locked just had to be the medicine cupboard. Fuck, he screamed in his mind. Making out the contours of the desk in front of the window, he opened every drawer quickly. Orange pill bottles caught his sight and he shoved them into his big pockets quickly. Whatever they were for, it could only be helpful in the long run. Opening the last drawer and emptying it, he still hadn´t found what he was looking for. He knew that an inhaler had to be in this room somewhere, in case of emergency. Kurt bit down on his lip again, preventing coughs and words of anger. His hands clenched on the surface of the desk as he looked up, right out of the window. The first thing he saw was dark eyes, then the paint on the face. The man looked at him in confusion, before he was gone too suddenly, for Kurt to even blink.

His mind caught up to the situation fast and he reached for the window to open it. He had to run. He could feel the window give in, but only slightly. In desperation, he through his fists against the glass, the window gave in to the pressure, but wouldn´t open wide enough for him to fit through. In this moment, Kurt didn´t think about being quiet. A melodic whistle echoed through the empty halls and shortly after steps and voices could be heard. His fist collided again and again, opening the window a little more every time. His lungs screamed in response, tired of too much action. Light erupted from behind him, the door flew open. A part of him wanted to surrender, just get it over with. The other part still tried to open the window.

Another whistle sounded, this time louder as it came from a few feet away. Finally the window opened fully, and Kurt´s hands reached out for the wall for support just when strong hands grabbed him. Kurt struggled as they forced his hands behind his back and him to bend this way. He still could see the now open window, his life and freedom taunting him. Shortly after, he was turned around and forced down to his knees. Hands pressed down on his shoulders and someone still had his wrist behind his back, as struggling was made impossible for him.

"What tribe are you from?" A male voice asked him.

He looked up to see the one who had spoken. The flashlights some of the people held made it possible to make out every one of them, but his eyes stayed on the boy in the front. It wasn´t the one he had seen outside. This one had half of his face covered in white paint, around the lips teeth had been drawn on that made him look like he had a sinister smile on a far too big mouth. The teeth looked sharp. Around left eye he had black paint, making the whole left side, with teeth and the dark eye seem like a skull. He had dark curly hair that made him look even wilder. In his complexity he looked good, with muscular arms. The thing that brought Kurt back into the dangerous reality was the metal pole in his right hand that gleamed in the yellow light of the flashlights.

"Make him talk!" The boy ordered.

Before Kurt could process what was being said, his lower leg, now resting on the floor was being stomped on by the guy to his left side. Kurt´s high pitched scream pierced the room.

"Let´s ask you again. What tribe are you from?"

"None."Kurt lied.

"You look well fed for a loner. So either you are lying, or you know where food is stored."

The boy then stepped forward, until Kurt´s face was the same height as his leather covered crotch. Calloused finger gripped his chin and forced him to look up.

"So what is it? It would be a pity for you to lose that precious face in your line of work, huh?" The boy said, squeezing his chin.

Kurt knew that the boy implied he was a street whore, the only kind of tribe-less people that weren´t in danger of dying, since teenagers still loved sex.

"Just kill me." Kurt finally answered through clenched teeth.

He could see the smirk on the boys face, making the left side with the skull look more sinister. Then his vision blurred as his lung felt like it contracted again, as coughs shook his body. The boy stepped away from him and he doubled over, trying to get more air. He could feel his hands being released, as well as his shoulders and he had just enough power to embrace himself, as if that could soothe his body. A metallic taste formed in his mouth with every new cough it grew more. After what seemed like an eternity he stopped coughing, his forehead still pressed to the floor and his mouth opened to release some of the blood in it. Tears clung to his cheeks as he panted for air that never seemed to reach his lungs.

"Seems like your body does the killing part just fine without our help. So you were looking for some medicine in here? Still doesn´t answer my question. Where have you gotten the food? Tell me and maybe we could give you your precious medicine."

Kurt knew when he was lied to. Even if he didn´t, in this times giving thieves medicine was never going to happen. He would never betray his friends. They could kill and torture him, he would never tell. Hands pulled him back on his knees and he couldn´t find it in himself to care for the blood and spit that clung to his chin. Unable to form words, Kurt shook his head no.  
"No? We really could have saved you."  
"Kill me." Kurt whispered again.

Chuckles erupted from all around the room. Kurt was too powerless to look up or to care. He just hoped his assumption his whole life had been wrong and there was a god. Maybe he could find his Mom and his Dad somewhere in afterlife.

"We´re not stupid enough to let you die before telling us. Sooner or later you will break down and tell us where we can find food, otherwise you will starve along with us."

The boy left the room then, whistling a new tune. The other boys in the room followed him. Kurt was lifted as well, and forced to walk down the hall. Whenever he tried to run, or stopped walking, they shoved or beat him. His mind was too occupied with other things, so that he only realized where they were going, when he was inside. The choir room now looked different. The chairs had been replaced by familiar looking mattresses and the trophy-cupboard was empty. The piano was damaged beyond control, a few keys littering the floor. The only things still on their places were the white-board and the desk of Mr. Schuster. This was where they shoved him down to sit. When they handcuffed him to the leg of the table, hands behind his back, he saw one boy without painting laying on the mattress, looking at him with hollow eyes. A shudder ran though his body, caused by the hard, cold floor he was supposed to sit on, and by the strangers stare.

"Let me get this straight. We won´t give you the pleasure of killing you just now You will remain sitting here, being beaten up until you tell us your secret.." The skull boy said, sitting down at the back of the choir room on a mattress. It was the exact same place he had often sat on.

"I won´t!"

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**Sooo? Was it okay? I hope it was. **

**Sorry for some grammar or spelling mistakes. I´m from Germany and even though some of my friends mistake me for an english dictionary, I am not :DDD**

**-I am looking for a Beta that would not only correct those mistakes, but would help me find new ways of expressing what I want to write in better words!**

**Reviews fuel me. I would love to hear your opinion or plottings :D **


	2. Zoo

**AN: So yeah in this chapter, blaine is a little schitzophrenic in this chapter. But mostly because he is all talk and practically caramel inside *_***

**Sorry for the delay, kinda caught up in school again. XC Damn you school :D**

**Klaine all the way. And I expect Adam to be more than mediocre or I´ll hate him. I´m sorry for being irrational, but I wouldn´t hate him if I knew for certain that Klaine is endgame. :D**

**Hope you like this chap as well. took a little long .**

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**_1.1.2013_**

_I stand in front of a grave, my hands clenched and the cold air stings as I breathe in. My limbs seem to have frozen in place, rooted in the earth the woman I once loved now rests in. I had never been one to talk to gravestones. Why should I, when I knew she couldn´t hear me? But today I had come with the intention to break my vow to never cry over her after her burial, since I had tried to be strong not only for me, but for Kurt. _

"_I have failed you. How am I supposed to protect our son now? Soon I will be dead and I can´t do a thing to change it. He will die as well. I should have told him sooner about this. About you and your…departure." I gulped down the lump in my throat and continued. "I called Frederic. He said he would try to find a cure. If he does, I don´t really care if there is enough for the rest of the world, as long as my boy is being protected. I knew you would scream at me for saying that, but I am just being honest. You know, sometimes I imagine you watching over us and seeing Kurt grow up. He really is a good kid, after all we´ve been through. He is the one thing I am proud of. So if you…like, have any connection to God or whomever, ask him to protect our child."_

_I shook my head, realizing how stupid it was talking to someone who had died so many years ago. If I had wanted to spend my time with useless talking to air, I could have done it elsewhere. There wasn´t a relieving moment I felt when I walked away from her grave. Something at me had apparently hoped for something, since I now felt disappointed. I shouldn´t have come here at all. As soon as I sat in my car I dialed Frederic's number again and asked for an update about the cure. No progess- I´m sorry._

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September 2013

Kurt´s head buzzed because of the shaking of his body that happened every time he coughed. His mouth tasted like blood, metallic and sticky, no matter how hard he tried to swallow it. Another cough echoed through the room, waking him from the quiet slumber he fell in and out of.

"Aww. Fuck if the bastard doesn´t start coughing, I swear I will gag him and watch him choke!" Someone snapped.

Kurt didn´t recognize this voice, but whoever it was, he sounded absolutely capable of going through with what he said. Exhausted by the sleepless night and desperate for something to happen, he coughed again, but this time he made it sound fake.

"I said shut up!"

When another fake cough left his mouth, his eyes were instantly drawn to the beam of the flashlight at the end of the choir room. Then it was directed at him and he squinted his tired eyes to protect them from the brightness.

"Nick, turn the light off and go back to sleep. He just wants you to be angry."

When someone spoke this time, he knew it was the skull-boy. The boy who had threatened to beat him up just hours ago, was now defending him. At least sort of. He doubted that a drowsy voice could hold enough authority to prevent this Nick from shutting me up for good.

"What about Jeff? He hasn´t got any sleep for days and this coughing idiot doesn´t help at all." The one with the flashlight retorted.

"I don´t hear him complain."

The beam left Kurt´s face and swung into another direction, illuminating the well-known and still strangely foreign room. In the yellow light, Kurt could make out stirring people, pulling their blanket over their head to continue their peaceful sleep. Only one boy was sitting in his bed. Boredom drove Kurt to care for the now paintless left side of the face that lay covered in shadows. He was sure the boy had washed the paint from his face too, everyone else from the tribe had done so. The water apparently still ran in the school, as it did in the supermarket.

"You can´t be fucking serious! You know about his condition and until Coop is back here, I will not take any more shit of you Blaine. Come on Jeff, we will sleep somewhere else." Nick yelled. More and more tribe members were awake by now, rubbing their eyes, or instantly watching the fight that had broken out. More flashlights were turned on, waking even the last sleeping person. Now Kurt was able to see every face clearly.

"I am not Blaine any more than you are Nick." Skull-boy replied, his expression and voice calm, while the atmosphere suddenly seemed tense.

"Fuck you, Ace then. Whatever. Wes, help me carry our mattresses!"

The boy named Nick bend down at his waist, to pick someone up in bridal style. Pale arms instantly locked behind his back in support and for the first time, Kurt could see the boy much clearer, he remembered starring at him and given him the creeps. Now, in brighter light, he could only wonder why he had felt remotely intimidated by the blonde guy. His cheeks were sunken in, his arms should be more than just skin and bones, but they weren´t. Kurt then coughed, but wouldn´t let himself be distracted by the pain or the new load of blood sticking to his tongue. Just like the first time, his gaze was captured by hollow brown eyes. Realization had dawned on him sooner he assumed, but it only hit its aim about now. This boy would starve soon, and he would only be the first one.

As an enemy , he shouldn´t feel sorry for him and at first he didn´t. Kurt thought of the brutality that would ensue if he would keep his mouth shut about food. Hungry humans, were not humans at all, they turned into monsters. One monster looked at him right now, blue eyes that seemed eager to begin with his torture, while he held a starving boy in his arms in a gentle manner.

"Nicky, the coughing doesn´t bother me. We can stay here."

"Shut up Jeff! I don´t want to hear any more words. Do you think everything is about you? The slut keeps me from resting my body. And without a strong body I can´t beat him into telling us where he has gotten the food later on." Nick said, still focusing on Kurt.

Kurt wanted to laugh at the meekly attempt to cover his intention of leaving. Of course he only did it for this Jeff. Even though Kurt didn´t doubt he meant the last part as well. He only sat up straighter, unblinking in the eye of danger. When a cough raced his body again, his eyes didn´t shut fast enough to miss the smirk on Nicks face. This was only the first of many battles Kurt would lose and the most painless one at that. The shame dwelling in his body made attempts to climb up his cheeks and color them red and he was too weak to fight it. He just hoped the light wasn´t bright enough to show the blush.

"Whoever wants to follow me and get rest instead of…well this, do so. Wes, mattress!"

Murmurs aroused then the rustling of blankets. Through tear-filled eyes caused by his coughs, Kurt watched one of them get up and grab one mattress and pulling it out the door. Murmurs turned into whispers, that were finally shut up with a sharp whistle. Skull boy – Blaine- Ace- The Leader. Slowly one flashlight after another was turned off and the shadowy figures lay down again. Only the leader had his one on, illuminating the floor in front of him and then blinding Kurt as he drew nearer.

"Take this! I actually want you to live through this night." He heard him say, before something was pressed against his lips. It felt hard, but warm. Plastic and rectangular, hollow in the middle. It was an inhaler.

"Open your fucking mouth bitch! I would gladly strangle you every time you cough, but that wouldn´t be much fun."

Kurt shook his head. Doing so, he glanced at the device in front of him. It seemed to be the right one. Again, his lips were met by plastic. Then he was kicked in the ribcage, his mouth opening in a surprised O, flowed by the a shape when his mind felt the waves of pain. He actually didn´t taste the medicament. He instantly inhaled, like the enemy had wanted him to.

"Good boy."

"Fuck you!" Kurt growled, kicking out with his legs, but only meeting air, as he couldn´t see too well with the beam directed at his face.

"Feisty thing huh? Do your costumers really want to fuck something like this? If I were to buy you, I would fuck you raw until you were too weak to even cough."

Kurt was shut up by that, imaging the scenario described. When he shivered, he felt disgusted to the bone.

"You couldn´t pay me enough to have permission to even touch me!"

"Who needs permission? You are our hostage, our thing! Whenever we will feel the desire to fuck something, who do you think we could use?"

For the first time in hours, Kurt didn´t know what to say. His eyes widened in shock and realization and the soup he had for lunch fought its way up his throat again. He was utterly terrified.

"Good night Sweety." The skull boy whispered into his ear. Kurt felt the heat of another body in front of his face, as darkness surrounded them again. He smelled smoke and sugar on the boy's clothes. A mixture that made him feel dizzy and even sicker, but nothing prepared him for the tongue lapping at his earlobe.

The chuckle that followed sounded too melodic to belong to the man he despised. He noticed the boy had retreated several seconds later, as a relief breath left his mouth. In the silent room Kurt´s thoughts seemed to scream horribly loud. The conversation between Nick and Blaine didn´t interest him, not really. Still, he found himself thinking about it, drifting into the sweet calmness of sleep shortly after, the smell of sweet smoke stuck in his nostrils.

Waking up a few hours later felt, for the first time in weeks, actually good. Not measured with the time before the virus. Nothing can hold up to that time. How little they thought of it, up to the point it was gone. Kurt rubbed his face in the jeans of his knees, reluctantly blinking them open to the sharp light of the sun. He didn´t need the cold metal on his wrists, or the stiffness of his should to remind him of his position. Captured and about to be broken beyond repair, if he wasn´t already that is. The choir room smelled of sweat and unclean air, but at least Kurt seemed to be alone. In the light of the day he was able to analyze the damage done to the room that had been his favorite place on earth, sometimes. They had ripped away the legs of the piano, crumpled the keys and only the useless body of it lay down a few feet away from him. Judging by the crumbles and a plate, it had the function of a table now.

Something squeezed the insides of him and he wasn´t sure if it was his lungs, or sadness. Scribbled on the white board were obscene words, in these times everyday words to be exact and some names. Right in the middle, in bold red letters their tribe name was written: The Warblers. Glancing over to the cupboards with the doors ripped out, for whatever reason, he squinted. There, in the top shelf was picture of the New Directions. From that position he could barely make out daces, but he remembered taking the photo too well to be wrong. Kurt stood in the right hand corner, chubbier face and shorter. But that was not the reason he felt like hyperventilating. It was the names scribbled down under it. All of their names. Kurt Hummel right under the picture of him. They would know. If they knew they would never let him die of blood loss. They would quickly let go of the part that remained human to torture him for this information. Because he was Kurt Hummel, and he knew!

Quiet steps, just as loud as his own wildly beating heart, drew his attention towards the mattresses. The blonde guy, Jeff if he remembered correctly, walked towards him. He wore a far too big white shirt and loose-fitting trousers. He still looked sick, but without the healthier guys holding him in his arms, the effect wore off. Yes, he still seemed to be underweight and weak, but with the smile on his lips he could have been random guy #3 you met in America. At least the ones he used to meet years ago.

When Jeff was two feet away, he sat down, his knees pulled towards his chest, mirroring Kurt's position. Slightly tan hands on the kneecaps were the only thing wrong in the picture. Kurt felt mocked and annoyed when seconds passed without a conversation. The boy just sat in front of him, smiling and looking. Kurt knew he shouldn´t. He was in deep trouble even without them knowing who he was. Still, the bitter part of himself he had gained over the last month roared too loudly to be ignored.

"What? Am I some kind of attraction in here? No television set or radio? Where is the rest of the tribe that promised me a good old beating today? I am disappointed to say the least. Not that you could get any information out of me." Kurt spat. Jeff laughed, a short and deep sound.

"I knew you were a talker. I am Jeffrey Sterling and you are?"

Stunned, Kurt shook his head to clear his thoughts. This was not what he expected.  
"Oh just pick a name your friends gave me. Slut is a bit old fashioned though."

"You´re funny. Seriously though, just give me a name I can call you. Doesn´t matter if you make it up. Some of us have a new name as well. Blaine for example flips if someone doesn´t call him Ace now. I never felt the need to rename myself, though. Jeff fits just fine."

Kurt remained quiet. This guy was seriously nuts. Couldn´t they skip the part of superficial pleasantries and come right to the beating part? What was the meaning in this? Would they really think he was stupid enough to reveal his secrets just because the dummy was nice? Jeff´s smile didn´t waver as he seemed to wait for an answer. Realizing he would get none after a few minutes, he slowly slid closer. Kurt pretended to be unimpressed by the new hand on his kneecap. Apparently his silence was the sign for Jeff to switch techniques. Kurt coughed as short breaths were taken too shallow to reach his lungs. But the hand didn´t move down his inner thigh's. It remained there, motionless, harmless. Just a warm hand on his leg.

"I´ll call you Fawn then. I would tell you the reason for this, but my price would be some information about you. Nothing mayor. Just a childhood memory or anything. It tends to get lonely here with the boys gone." Jeff confessed.

"You know it wouldn´t be so lonely and boring with me free of the handcuffs. We could do something together then. Like scrabble or chess." It was a try. A simple and stupid one. That is why Kurt wasn´t too disappointed when Jeff laughed again.  
"Hey, I may be sociable and lonely, but I am not stupid."

"Worth a try."

"It was. Believe me when I say I would help you escape, but I am not capable of doing that. Ace has the keys."

Kurt slid slightly closer, ignoring the strain in his shoulders and the biting metal on his wrists. Jeff seemed unfazed by it.  
"You could easily steal them. You know where they are, don´t you?"

"I do. But they are my family. If setting you free means losing them, I am sorry to be so selfish, but I choose them. I could never leave Nick. Do you still have family somewhere Fawn?"

At mentioning the asshole from last night, Nick, the dull eyes of Jeff were filled with love. Kurt had seen love heal people. It had healed his father, Rachel, Tina and even Quinn. He didn´t know how being in love felt like apart from books and movies. But he assumed Jeff did.

"I don´t." Kurt lied. Jeff´s hand squeezed his knee at that.

"I wished the Warblers could be your family then. When Coop returns and you cooperate a little, I am sure you could join. He always liked me. Ace won´t like the idea too much though, but we will find a way."

"Jeff, what is going on here? I thought I made it clear you had to stay in our bed! I know the whore would try to persuade you. Fuck, Jeff!"

Both boys on the floor flinched at the suddenly too loud voice coming from the opened door. Nick stood there with another boy. The right side of his face was in black and white striped, resembling a zebra. An angry zebra. Jeff didn´t pull back though, a look of resignation and love, fear and longing on his face. His face was calm when he spoke though.

"It was boring. We were just talking, no reason to throw a tantrum."

"You just told him he could be a member of this tribe. I knew you were stupid but that tops it. He is nothing but a streetslut with someplace he hides food. As soon as he spills his secret, we will off him." Nick answered.

While talking, he walked over, grabbed Jeff by his arms and yanked the taller boy up to a standing position. Kurt watched as the quick fight left Jeff´s features as he submitted. Kurt hadn´t trusted or believed a word of him, so seeing this shouldn´t feel this disappointing.

"We will talk about this later okay? We found some food, not much but it will do for three days."

"Found it, or stole it?"

"This time we really found it." Nick said. Kurt knew he was lying, hell Jeff probably did too, but he watched as the blonde relaxed into an embrace. Obliviousness was not a solution, not even in times like these, but it sure as well helped making oneself fell better.

The rest of the tribe walked in by dawn, all of their faces freshly painted. The purpose of it remaining a secret to Kurt. The creativity to come up with various ideas about them was hiding behind more important needs, one of them was telling himself over and over again that he wasn´t hungry. He had eaten just yesterday at lunch. Compared to the meat and mashed potatoes, cooked as soon as electricity was switched on in the school kitchen, yesterday's soup sucked even more. It was like comparing a beautiful butterfly to a moth. Kurt´s stomach growled loudly as he caught the smell of dinner. You are not hungry! Hiding his face in his bend knees in frustration, he didn´t look up when he was spoken to. While all the other guys had chosen to eat in the cafeteria, with its comfortable chairs, the leader was the only one who didn´t bother for that. Blaine had simply sat down on his mattress and had chuckled when the first growl escaped Kurt´s body.

"Hey, are you that hungry? Maybe you could ask really nicely for it, and I let you have some."

Kurt kept his mouth shut and willed his ill mannered thoughts at bay. It would do him no good to further anger the man who planned to torture him.

"Assuming that you sell yourself for a living, one could assume you would be more entertaining."

Stifling the first cough after having inhaled the medicine, Kurt raised his head. Roughly 19 hours. His condition had worsened it seemed.  
"One does as one can, while being handcuffed to a table. It would be easier to do my job, if I could use my hands." The leader smiled around the plastic cutlery between his lips.

"Believe me when I say that you have places much better than your hands if it comes to fulfilling my needs."

Disgusted by the implication, Kurt faced the window, instead of watching the skull paint on Blaine´s face move whenever he talked. The yellow light of the lamp in the auditorium made the white of the boney seem sick, only adding to the already gruesome appearance. If he intended to appear inhuman, he had got it right.

"Don´t pretend you are a virgin and what I say repels you. Because it´s either that you truly are a whore and get pair with food, or you have a food source someplace safe. Maybe at another tribe."

Kurt swallowed, coughed and swallowed on dry air again. The leader had hit the nail spot on and he could only try to appear impassive, while his mind tried to come up with something to say. Anything, really. His breath quickened when a tune filled the air, a soft whistle, short and melodic. One he had heard before. Shortly after that Nick burst into the room, followed by a dark-skinned boy that had the left side of his face painted in deep green scales and dangerous teeth around his lips. Jeff was the last one, walking in much slower and he was the only one that looked at him with pity.

"What is it now? I hope you called to torture him into telling us. Otherwise I have much more important things to deal with." Nick said.

If Blaine was annoyed at being talked to in that way, he didn´t show. His stance remained proud and dominant.

"I think we wasted enough time with talking. David, I want you to take him to the gym and explain our rules. I want him to be prepared to fight me in one hour sharp."

"No." Jeff breathed out.

"Indeed no. You give this creature the opportunity to win? Why not beat him up if he is cuffed? What difference does it make if all we want is information?"

"We may try to look like them, but we are not animals, nor will we ever be. He won´t be of any use to us dead, and he won´t talk even if we break his spine."

Nick huffed at that, swatting away Jeff´s hand when it rubbed his right arm in a comforting manner.

"How do you know that? We could try! You know we need that food. Just today it took us hours of scanning two cities to find this. Who can guarantee us that we are as lucky next week. Or the week after. Even he just hides fucking Twinkies, we need them!"

Blaine sighed.

"He is human too. We could rightfully earn this food if I win. You know that I´ll win."

"Coming from the man who called him bitch and slut? And then what? You think he will just tell us where he gets it?" Nick screamed.

"He won´t have another choice. Otherwise he will starve along with us."

While Nick still protested against whatever had been concluded, the crocodile guy crawled under the table to open the lock. Kurt felt him fumble with the keys, proding against the metal to find the lock. It opened soundlessly and Kurt got up and ran. Hands tried to grab him, but he could escape them, since they didn´t expect him to suddenly leap up. His body felt weak, when he made it through the hall. His heart beat quickly, as he instinctively chose to run to the right side, trying to get to the place he felt relatively safe at. The girls bathroom. Loud breaths surrounded him, and he tried to run faster, knowing they were right behind him. At the first curve, he stumbled, but caught himself before he could fall and then he could see his goal. It was only a few feet away from him. For a millisecond he saw it, before it blurred, as he was shoved against the next wall. Kurt´s head gave a dull sound as it collided with it and black dots littered his vision. The breath grew in their intensity and he only now realized it had been himself causing the noise.

"That was not the smartest thing to do in a school full of boys who are healthier and fitter than you are." Crocodile David said, while pinning down his arms against the wall.

Feeling the surge of power that had raced through him as he had made an attempt to escape, leave him, he gave in to the pressure to sit down, forcing the crocodile to do the same to maintain the grip on his wrists. Kurt wanted to fight, he really did, he was simply too exhausted to do so. Shortly after he was picked up by Crocodile David who transported him to the locker rooms. It didn´t resemble the gentle way in which the beast Nick had held Jeff. Kurt mostly was dragged over the floor, his jeans breaking on some patches. He was finally placed on a bench, uncuffed, but being no threat in his condition. Laying down, and looking up to the bubblegum that had been put on the ceiling, he tried to calm down enough to even out his breathing.

"Hey you. Whatever name you have, it is important that you listen now."

Kurt found himself shaking his head no. He would have done that at anything he was asked at this point.

_Are you clever? _Headshake_. Do you miss your Dad? _Headshake_. Would you give anything to with places with him. _Headshak_e. Is the leader in an annoying way sexy_? Headshake_._

"Yes you will. If you don´t and you end up losing because of it, Ace won´t hesitate anymore. He tries to be his old self, but being heartless comes easier to him. So you will fight, lose and be tortured every day. Or you can try to win back your freedom."

"What do you even care?" Kurt asked, his mind a fuzzy mix of pain and nonchalance.

"Despite of what you think, we are not soulless beasts who just beat up everyone we cross. It´s just that you were at the wrong place at the wrong time and we hope to be lucky and get your secrets out of you. You on the other hand, were just unlucky."

Unlucky indeed. And there was only one way to make it out of here safely. Win against a man with muscles, where in lack of food, bones should appear. His chances of winning, practically zero.

* * *

**So there will be a fight next chapter.**

**1. Who do you think will win?**

**2. Do you like Nick?**

**2. Crocodile David is a great name haha, isnßt it?**


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